Measured Days

Make this minimalist perpetual calendar out of a yardstick, a bead and some picture hanging supplies. What could be easier?

Here is a fun graphic calendar for the new year.

Materials:

yardstick

glue

small eye screws (for picture frames)

thin braided cable (for picture frames)

red wooden bead (I painted mine)

acetone (optional)

sand paper (optional)

stick-on velcro

Tools:

drill

drill bit

saw

Most hardware stores have yardsticks for sale for under a dollar. This particular one was a few dollars as it was made of slightly better wood and varnished. Either one will do. I have also found nice yardsticks in fabric stores without any logos. Even better.

You may leave the hardware store logo on the stick or remove it. If it is varnished, acetone will remove the advert. Use sandpaper to remove the wording from the unsealed sticks. Cover the numbers with masking tape while you sand so that you won't accidently remove the numbers.

Cut the stick off at 31 1/2 inches.

Drill small pilot holes into the ends of the yardstick underneath the numbers (1/4 and 31 1/4). Screw in the eyescrews. Thread the bead onto the cable. Thread the cable through the eyescrews, wrap the ends around the screw once and twist the cable end around itself to secure.

Apply one side of the velcro to the back of the yardstick and the other side to the wall.

Hang the yardstick on the wall and advance the bead each day.

Simple and elegant.

One Two Buckle My Gift

I have a well documented addiction to paper punches, but what I haven't confessed is my equal addiction to beautiful ribbons. I can't bear to throw out even the smallest ends. Somewhere in blogland, I saw ribbon buckles. This gave me the idea to combine my two loves.

Materials

poster board

ribbon

Tools

scissors

paper punches (2" scallop and 1/16" hole)

exacto knife

Punch a scalloped circle out of poster board. Punch 1/16" holes out of each half circle (scallop).

Make two slices about 1/4" from the center of the large shape with an exacto knife.

Embellish with glitter, paint, colored pencil, cover with scrapbook paper, etc. if you wish. I kind of like the plain white eyelet look.

Thread one end of the ribbon under the scallop and up and over the center tongue. Thread it through the second slit, then glue the short end to itself. Place the ribbon and buckle on the top of a box. Thread the other end of the ribbon under, over and through the buckle. Pull snuggly then trim the end.

Is this a case of the end justifying the means - er.... ribbon and punch addictions?

Faux Metal Mirror

Faux finishes have gotten a bad rap lately. Quite frankly, they have been overdone (mostly by me). This one never fails to amaze people so I hope you'll give it a try.

Materials

broad, flat frame (this IKEA mirror is perfect)

everything in your junk drawer and at the bottom of the toy box

epoxy or Liquid Nails glue

spray paint for plastic

primer spray paint (gray or rust color)

Copper Topper by Modern Options

Patina Green Antiquing Solution by Modern Options

clear spray

Tools

masking tape

paint brush

12" x 12" mirror - $2.99 at IKEA (Michael's has a similar frame -no mirror- for $1.00) You can use any flat frame.

Glue toys, etc. on with epoxy or Liquid Nails. Soft rubber (like erasers) doesn't work as it interacts with the spray paint.
Tape off the mirror. Paint with a spray paint made for plastic. Turn your frame while you paint to be able to cover every side of every object. You may think you have everything covered only to look at the frame from an different angle and find parts that show.

I used black, but gray, dark green or rust would work.

When the plastic spray paint is dry, spray with a primer. Either gray or rust colored primer are fine.

I know this seems odd to use two primer coats, but the plastic paint encapsulates the plastic and the primer is a better base for the faux finish.

Copper Topper is an acrylic paint with particles of copper in it. For this reason you need to thoroughly shake the bottle to mix the particles. Paint your frame when the primer is dry. Brush and stipple to cover everything.

Allow the first coat of Copper Topper to dry and then recoat. While the second coat is wet, paint on the patina liberally. I pour it into a small plastic or paper cup so that when I dip my brush in the patina I don't pollute the whole bottle. Allow to dry and age. I like to "over patina" the frame because when you spray with the clear paint the green becomes somewhat subdued.

Spray with clear to stop the aging process.

No one ever guesses that these are plastic toys. They think that I've cast all of these objects in metal and soldered them together. As if.

I've linked to:
http://thediyclub.com/2010/11/november-diy-project-party/

Christmas Letters

I'm always looking for a new way to decorate for Christmas. This minimalist graphic project brings a change from the usual green and red that dominates the season. I tried a number of different methods and materials to achieve this look and found that this was the best.

Materials:

9 various sized black frames with glass (Dollar Store)

adhesive backed transparency film for ink jet printers (clear full page labels at Office Depot)

tools:

scissors

glue gun

Remove all of the stuff that comes in the frames like pictures of those perfect actor-type kids and the cheap cardboard. Spray paint the frames black if they aren't already that color. Make each letter in a different font. Print them first on copy paper to make sure they fit the frames, then print on the transparency film. Cut out each letter, peel off the backing and place them on the front of the clean glass. Place the glass in the frame, turn it over and put a dab of hot glue at each corner to hold the glass in place. Let cool.

While these would look great on a mantle, I decided to tuck them into my welsh dresser.

Tips:

These look best pasted onto the front of the glass, While you can mirror the letters and adhere them to the back, the adhesive shows and distracts from the look.

Don't put hot glue on the frame before adding the glass as it oozes out and shows in the corners.